Fairhaven Children's Home near Covington has a lot of heart

Volunteers help load a container that will be shipped to Romania, courtesy of Johnny Huffman and the Fairhaven Children's Home.

Volunteers help load a container that will be shipped to Romania, courtesy of Johnny Huffman and the Fairhaven Children's Home.

With 14 children ages 2 to 16 currently living at home and more grown children in the area living richly blessed lives, Covington resident Johnny Huffman could easily be a Father of the Year.

However, this humble giant-hearted man wants no recognition or limelight. His attention is on doing the work of the Lord as he and his wife Sissie offer a safe, loving home to children at Fairhaven Children’s Home.

While the school year keeps the family very busy with homework, after-school activities and sports programs, summer is just as busy with Vacation Bible School and planning a much-anticipated annual camping trip at the beach.

“The children have been on about four or five different Little League teams this summer and the last games were held just this week,” Johnny Huffman said. “We are taking them to St. Andrews State Park for eight days and everyone is looking forward to it.” According to the Huffman’s biological daughter Jeannie Janke of Folsom, the annual camping trip is a big event and a bit of a major undertaking.

One family member has a large air-conditioned camper where the boys will sleep in 14 bunk beds while the girls will sleep in an air-conditioned tent.

“It’s so hot out there sometimes the kids have to get into the air conditioning during the day just to catch their breath,” Janke said. “My dad and brother-in-law got the camper ready for the trip.”

Janke is delighted that her husband, Matt, is able to take off the whole week so they can stay at the campground with the children while her parents enjoy their own private space at a local motel.

“It is great because it is the first time ever that my parents will get to participate but not have to do so much of the work,” she said. “My parents enjoy taking the children to the beach to swim, fish and ride bikes, but this way they can do those things and go back to their motel room when they need a break.” Janke said that her parents have been an example of Christian living to so many children.

“My parents have always had faith, which helped me a lot through my life,” Janke said. “Even when I felt I was not going to make it through something or another I always knew that God is all powerful and they taught me that.”

Janke added that her parents taught the family compassion, how to always love others and that each child has a purpose.

“It is pretty awesome that I have a dad that who is serving the Lord and who has been a father to so many children,” Janke said. “I hope and pray that I am doing what God wants me to and that my children see in me what I saw in my dad as I was growing up.”

Janke added that she never felt neglected growing up in such a large family. There was always someone to play with and all of the children were treated alike.

“I never felt like I was missing out on anything because we would go on all kinds of nature outings when we were young like white water tubing and mountain climbing; things that didn’t cost much but the experiences enriched our lives,” she said.

Janke added that her mom is always there for anyone in need and many of the grown children still call her for advice.

“My mother is the most selfless person I know; she remembers the birthdays of each child that she has raised,” Janke said. “Her heart is big and she loves each child just like they were her own birth children.”

Janke and the other family members have seen a lot of faith in action since the Fairhaven home is run strictly on faith. They have witnessed many miracles over the years and the ministry has become a funnel for medical supplies and personal goods to be shipped around the world as needs arise.

While Sissie Huffman keeps the hearth and home running smoothly, Johnny Huffman is in constant contact with people around the world in need and those who are looking for ways to help.

“There are days I get so tired I would just love to stop,” Johnny Huffman said. “You get so tired and discouraged but then you hear about a need and think you can help meet it so I don’t really know how to stop.”

Huffman said that while a group of local volunteers just helped load a 40-foot-high container with clothing, toys and other supplies for Romania, he is also working to get the money to ship more than $300,000 of much-needed medical supplies to Romania.

“There are a group of people in Texas who are sorting the supplies while we pray and wait for it all to come together,” Huffman said, adding that there is a great need for the supplies to get into southern Romania where the living conditions are much worse than other parts of Romania.

“If it were not for other people none of this would get done; people donate items and money for shipping while other people come to our home to help sort and load the containers,” he said. “That is part of the mission work that other people just don’t get to witness.”

Huffman adds that he never takes for granted the generosity of people.“They give up their time, especially weekends when we usually load a container,” he said. “We have a group of ladies from Isabel Baptist Church and Livingston Parish who come throughout the week to sort clothes and other items to get them ready for shipping and there are local medical personnel who always help sort the medical supplies as needed.”

Huffman never knows where the money will come from to ship the large containers. The last container went out due to the generosity of local churches plus a donation from a German business.

Huffman has many stories to tell about people’s generosity and the way the Lord makes things happen. A few years ago one of his Canadian contacts called him with a shipment problem.

A container filled with millions of dollars of vitamins was going to be destroyed in Russia because it was sitting on the docks with no way to get it moved. Even though the container had been cleared through customs before shipping, laws changed that affected the shipping across land.

“With prayer we were able to get that container moved out of Russia; it made its way through several countries and we distributed the vitamins to orphanages all over Romania,” Huffman said.

“Although I feel like what we do is not even a drop in the bucket for the needs that exist, with God’s help and the help of many others, we have had the privilege of helping many with critical and urgent needs.”